Gopalakrishnan Venkatesan

Sunday, October 12, 2014

India created history by
successfully stationing (placing) it’s Mangalyaan Spacecraft in the orbit of
Mars planet on 24.09.2014. The people of India congratulated wholeheartedly the
ISRO scientists for this remarkable first attempt technological mission achievement.

Mars Mission:

The average distance between the two
planets Earth and Mars is 225 million km. The
research on planet Mars is being conducted by various countries including USA,
Russia, India and China. The overall objective
of all research on Mars is to study what will be needed to make it habitable.

Mars Orbiter Mission

The Mangalyaan mission concept
began with a feasibility study in 2010.India
planned to send a spacecraft called Mangalyaan to Mars to conduct research on the
planet.On 05.11.2013, India through its launch
vehicle PSLV-C25 rocket successfully launched the Mangalyaan Spacecraft from
Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The Mangalyaan also called Mars
Orbiter Mission (MOM) is a 1350 kg weighed satellite that can reveal
interesting information about the planet Mars and induce us to develop new technology.

As per the plan, Mangalyaan moved
away from the gravitational force of the Earth on 01.12.2013 and travelled
towards Mars. From time to time the direction of the Mangalyaan was changed in
controlled manner so as to reach the target spot.The Mangalyaan thus travelled into the orbit
of Mars and moved into the gravitational force of the planet Mars on
22.09.2014. The work related to stationing the Mangalyaan started on
23.09.2014.A Liquid Apogee Meter was
operated to reduce the speed of the spacecraft step by step.In other words, the speed of the spacecraft
was reduced from 22.1 km/second to 4.4 km/second.The Mangalyaan was thus successfully
stationed in the orbit of Mars at 0754 Hrs on 24.09.2014.All commands for this purpose were given from
the computer positioned within the Spacecraft.The spacecraft was inserted into an orbit with a nearest distance of 423
km (262 miles) to the Red Planet Mars and a farthest distance of 80,000 km (50,000 miles).

Commendable Achievement of ISRO

The commendable achievement of
ISRO is not a small one in any sense.First the spacecraft is put in the orbit of earth and allowed to go one
for some time.Then, the spacecraft is
to be let loose to slip into deeper space and almost to on its own till it reaches
Mars.When it is to enter the orbit of
Mars, suddenly it needs to be woken up and even given instructions to fire more
than a dozen engines almost simultaneously or in some specific sequence.Even the signals take almost twenty minutes
to reach the spacecraft from the earth stations involved in controlling and
monitoring the spacecraft for the last almost one year.Another twenty minutes are also needed to get
the feedback from the spacecraft to know how it is responding or to locate any
fault.The very fact that everything
happened with a clockwork precision clearly indicates the level of coordination
among the ISRO scientist.

What Mangalyaan will do for us?

The Mangalyaan carries five
important instruments. These include imagers in optical and infrared, a
photometer, an instrument to study the impact of neutral material around Mars
and a methane sensor. The imagers will allow us to image the surface of Mars
and to determine its surface and atmospheric light reflectivity.The neutral material detector will help us
understand how the solar radiation falling on Mars ablates the atmospheric
material. The methane sensor will check the tentative detection of
methane on Mars and the location from where the methane is coming.Methane gas
is highly reactive and it reacts and changes form quickly. It can only be
sustained by continuing chemical reactions or life forms – on earth the
bacteria from guts of cows are the most prolific producers of methane which is
also a greenhouse gas.

Mangalyaan or Mars Orbiter
Mission was executed in a shoestring budget of Rs.450 crore.The Mangalyaan will continue to send photos
to the Earth.The expected lifespan of
the spacecraft is six months, after which it will run out of fuel and not be
able to maintain its orbit. India joins the US, Russia and Europe in
successfully sending probes to orbit or land on Mars. The mission also makes
India the first country in Asia to reach Mars.Heartiest Congratulations to India.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

What
is the reason for the present economic crisis of shutdown in United States of
America?

In USA both the medical
expenditure and medical insurance is very expensive.Due to high cost, a large number of poor and
middle class citizens of USA live without any medical insurance.In the absence of medical insurance, such
people find it extremely difficult to foot their medical bill for their various
diseases.In order to mitigate this
situation and to cover medical insurance to all people of America, the Democratic
president of USA, Barrack Obama introduced
a bill in 2009 that culminated into “The Patient
Protection and Affordable CareAct,
2010”.This was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010
and came to be better known as Obamacare.Its main
purpose is to address both the affordability and quality of healthcare, as well
as to curb the growth in healthcare spending in the USA.

Opposition by the
Republicans:

Obamacare is well received by the
People of America and has earned a good name to the Democratic President
Obama.This is viewed as a threat by the
Republicans for the future elections.Hence, the Republicans opposed the bill in the past.The reasons put forth by the Republicans
before the people at large is that if a huge outlay is allocated towards
Obamacare, various other schemes would get adversely affected. Due to Obamacare, the Forbes has also reported an
increase in national health spending to the range of to $7,450 per family of 4
between 2014 and 2022.

US Congress and
Indian Parliament:

The United States
Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government and consists
of two houses: the lower house known as the House of Representatives (Lok
Sabha in India) and the upper house known as the Senate (Rajya Sabha in
India).Democrats currently have a
majority in the Senate and Republicans control the House.

A Bill (inclusive of Money Bill)
can be introduced in either houses of Congress in USA.Bills originating in the House of
Representatives begin with "HR" and bills originating from the Senate
begin with "S."Unlike India,
where a Money Bill (Budget is a Money bill) can be introduced only in the Lok
Sabha, in the US the Money / Budget bill can be even introduced in the Senate.

In India, once the Lok Sabha
passes a Money Bill, it is forwarded to the Rajya Sabha for recommendations.
The Rajya Sabha must return the Bill in not more than 14 days with its
recommendations. If the Rajya Sabha
fails to do so, the Bill is considered to have been passed by both Houses.The Lok Sabha has the authority to accept or
reject any or all the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha. If the
recommendation/s of the Rajya Sabha is/are accepted, the Bill is said to have
been passed by both Houses of Parliament after being amended by the Rajya Sabha
and then accepted by the Lok Sabha.

The financial year commences in
India from April 1 whereas in America it starts from October 1.The day to day expenditure for Government
activities inclusive of salary to the Government employees needs to be
allocated before September 30.

The Budget bill introduced in the
Senate passed smoothly since the Democrats have the majority in the Senate. The
Republicans who rule the House have rejected the budget and have demanded
scrapping of any outlay towards Obamacare.This has lead to a crisis and the budget for the new financial year
remains in abeyance in the US.The
authority of Lok Sabha in India on Money Bill does not foresee any such situation.

USA Government
shutdown as budget deadline passes:

In
the absence of any budgetary provision, the salary to the US (Federal)
Government employees and day to day expenditure for Government offices stands
fractured in the United States. Obama
has blamed the House of Representatives for the stalemate and said he would
"keep working to get Congress to reopen the government [and] restart vital
services". Obama in a letter written to federal government employees has
stated that "This shutdown was completely preventable. It should not have
happened."

National parks, museums,
exhibitions, home loan, etc. are the Departments which have become the initial
casualties.Around ten lakh employees of
these Departments have been alerted to proceed on leave without salary.Defence, Passport, Postal, Airport, Courts
and Internal Defence, being essential in nature, are presently
functioning.If the crisis continues, the
essential services may also be hit.

Resolving the
Stalemate:

At a time when America is recovering
from the economic crisis, the present budgetary stalemate has caused some discomfiture.This is also adversely influencing the US
stocks / share markets.A similar crisis
did happen seventeen years back during Clinton Administration. Bill Clinton stood firmly and after 21 days
the opposition agreed to budge to end the crisis.Obama is already in the process of
discussions with the opposition.It is
not known how long the present impasse may continue.

Impact on India:

According to Economic Affairs
Secretary to the Government of India Arvind Mayaram, the US shutdown is
unlikely to have any major impact on the Indian economy. The Indian Express
reports that “Though the finance ministry and the stock markets may have
largely shrugged off the shutdown of the US government, it could still send a
tremor down the world economy as the impasse could lead to a debt default by
the US later this month. For India, it raises the prospect of a hit on exports
as well renewed volatility in the rupee. Though analysts believe that at
present it would have limited impact in sectors such as IT or tourism that are
dependent on Visa clearances, the bigger concern looming is October 17 when the
US government would hit its debt ceiling of $16.7 trillion. If by then the
Congress is unable to strike a deal, the US would face a default on treasury
bonds and also slash its spending, that would immediately impact the global
economy and could destabilize efforts Government of India and RBI have taken in
recent months to support the rupee.Let
us wait and see!

Friday, August 16, 2013

Reservation to SC/ST exists at all level in the matter of promotion by non selection method.In case of promotion by selection, SC/ST officer gets reservation upto the lowest rung of Group ‘A’.There is no reservation in promotion by selection within Group ‘A’.However, in case of promotion by selection from a Group ‘A’ post to another Group ‘A’ post having Grade Pay of Rs.8700/- or less, the SC/ST officers who are senior enough in the zone of consideration for promotion so as to be within the number of vacancies for which the select list is being drawn up will be included in the select list provided they are not considered unfit for promotion.This is not reservation but concession to such SC/ST officers.In this manner, sufficient care is taken to ensure that the SC/ST officers also earn promotion to such higher posts even if they do not meet the criterion laid down for general category candidates.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Gandhi (1982) – Movie ReviewThe Movie “Gandhi” - Directed by Richard Attenborough – portrays the biographical sketch and captures the essence of the message of our Father of Nation in excellent form and impressive dramatic effect. It is the fact story of one man who became the unchallenged leader of the Indian people's struggle to free themselves from British rule. The movie compresses half-century real life incidences of Gandhi and portrays effectively his contribution of non-violent solution to the world against a great empire. The movie reconfirms in Gandhi the greatest political leadership and thinker of the 20th Century. The three hours movie meticulously appeals the audience with various techniques of film making in great precision. Gandhi's great achievement of non-violence theory is best realized from this movie and it’s indeed a tribute to his cause.Ben Kingsley – in the role of Gandhi – brings out his fabulous acting and overall excellence. A TV artist as he was prior to this movie entered the Hollywood big screen with a band that no artist could have achieved such feet and won an Oscar at his debut. Other characters who draw compulsive attention in the movie are Rohini Hattangadi (Kasturi Bai Gandhi), Alyque Padamsee (Mohammed Ali Jinnah), Edward Fox (Gen. Dyer), Roshan Seth (Nehru), Geraldine James (Mirabehn), John Gielgud (Lord Irwin), Trevor Howard (Judge Broomfield), John Mills (Lord Chelmsford), Athol Fugard (Smuts), Martin Sheen (Walker), Ian Charleson (Charlie Andrews). The winning of below mentioned 8 Oscar awards announce the overall quality of this movie: Sl. NoCategory (Best)Name of Artist(1)Actor in Role of GandhiBen Kingsley(2)Art Direction - Set DecorationStuart Craig, Robert W. Laing & Michael Seirton(3)CinematographyBilly Williams & Ronnie Taylor(4)Costume DesignJohn Mollo & Bhanu Athaiya(5)DirectorRichard Attenborough(6)Film EditingJohn Bloom(7)PictureRichard Attenborough(8)ScreenplayJohn BrileyThe movie commences with assassination seen of Gandhiji at Birla House, Delhi. Nathuram Godse with tension on his face moves boldly towards Gandhi who is coming for prayer with his two grand nieces Manu and Abha. Ignoring Manu’s request, Godse folds his hands together and bows in greeting Mahatma and immediately we see Gandhi in full three shots. Gandhi falls uttering Oh, God . . . Oh, God (Hey Ram .. Hey Ram). The funeral scene followed by this murder with huge crowd and commentators speaking in soaked tone portrays a very gloomy situation. We saw the movie with a prejudiced mind that a foreigner could never portray Mahatma Gandhi with his real contribution. Our intuition gets defeated as the screen rolls on and on with the masterpiece direction of Richard Attenborough. The seen at South African Railway sets out a new trend in Gandhi's thinking. Gandhi’s travel in the first class coach with a book in his hand – we see the book “The Kingdom of God is Within You of Leo Tolstoy – comes to an abrupt end on the intervention of a European. As a result, Gandhi is thrown out from the Railway Coach and this humiliation transforms Gandhi from a private person to a public personality. The class acting of Ben Kingsley in expressing the great agony and frustration of the scene stuffs with emotions on every Indian. Rohini Hattangady at the age of 27 years took the role of Kasturba Gandhi in this movie. Her role reminds us the perfection of Indian housewife following the cause of her husband. Kasturba rebelling against the lowly task of dealing with the issue of sanitation during their stay at South Africa and Gandhi being fierce with her, threatening to expel her from the household, and his subsequent apology shows the intimacy of his private life linked with public life. Kasturba realizing his nature promises to do that part of her duty to support his efforts to live a humble life. Rohini Hattangady could not get an Oscar notwithstanding her excellent acting and the movie winning eight Oscars. The film portrays the relationship between Mahatma and Kasturba in an extremely beautiful and sensitive manner. Gandhi’s repeat demonstration of his marriage with Kasturba at his later age before a journalist giving new meaning for the Saptapadi (Seven phera - circumambulation) is worth adulation. This scene confirms the sensitiveness maintained in the film making.Gandhi's attempt of mass awakening against injustice in South Africa is captivating depiction. Gandhi’s oratory skill in a jam packed Imperial theatre of South Africa in denouncing the Black Act (Passed in March 1907) is quite appealing. His effective communication stating that all Indians must now be fingerprinted – like criminals and no marriage other than a Christian marriage is valid – drives home the point Gandhi intends to inject in the mass. The signal of anger and protest is silently captured through camera rolling around the entire hall. Kingsley’s intelligent aura, utterly rational and calm reaction to inflamed emotion brings us Gandhi alive. The qualities which Richard Attenborough gives Gandhi is of course remarkable and the question arises in our mind did such a man ever exist in our land. Gandhi is arrested for the first time in South Africa for the protest he leads against the Black Act. It took seven years of protest and in June 1914 the Black Act was repealed. Gandhi demonstrates that nonviolent protest could be immensely successful. The determination of Gandhi in ensuring logical conclusion of any issue taken up by him is convincingly imprinted in the viewers mind with his activities at South Africa. Gandhi's successful attempt in effectively thwarting the British in their discriminatory policies of governance at South Africa brings to the world the seedling of new leadership in Gandhi. The role the Judge Broomfield (Trevor Howard – has a very small role as an English magistrate) in South Africa brings out the importance of law and justice under the English regime. At this moment even Gandhi has great respect to the law of English as he keeps praising it to his wife Kasturba. The whole scene is skillfully picturised and the movie indeed begins with a bang.Gandhi’s returning to India in 1915 (Bombay Port) is also shown as great event. Indians and Congress Party receive Gandhi with great curiosity, expectations and belief that his man is going to deliver something to all of them. By this time his non-violent mantra (adopted in South Africa) has become topical in the minds of Indian. Nehru (Roshan Seth) and Patel (Saeed Jaffrey) receive Gandhi at Bombay port. Although Nehru is said to have met Gandhi for the first time in 1916 at Lucknow Congress Session, we ignore such error from Attenborough’s creation.Gandhi’s trip to see real India along with Kasturba taken up on the advice of Gokhale (Shriram Lagoo) is extensively shown. Gandhi has now become man of masses. The locations, thousands of extras, old trains, innocent and naïve surroundings of our good old days, the hues of rural India talks about the superb photography of Ronnie Taylor and Billy Williams. The movie in total is powerful, dramatic and authentic when we see through the photographic techniques. The missing of conventional Indian movie style, dancing or flashbacks is unique but welcome and befitting the great leader. While the average age of Indian movie viewers are considered to fall between 12 and 15 years of age, this movie expects a greater average of age from the viewers. Edward Fox plays the military commander - General Dyer, who cold-bloodedly shoots down unarmed freedom fighters attending a peaceful rally in Jallianwalla Bagh, Amritsar on 13th April 1919. His action in doing this even without giving any warning shows the level of British brutality. The massacre seen is indeed horrifying. This incident further fueled impetus to the demand of Poorna Swaraj. The movie should have taken the sentiments of Indians and included the scene of triggering by Udham Singh on General Dyer on 13 March 1940. Gandhi, as expected had released a statement (in Journal Harijan) stating that he had been outraged by the assassination and the differences with General Dyer should not prevent Indians from being grieved over his assassination. The consistent line of thinking by Gandhi never got deviated even by revenges.Incidentally, to maintain undiminished stature for Gandhi, Attenborough has avoided projecting any other personalities in the Independence struggle who achieved heroic proportions in their own. Hence the fact of Gandhi visiting Bhagat Singh in prison and his pleading to draft a compromise letter that would stay his execution is not shown. Bhagat Singh refused and was hanged.Attenborough has also ignored the most fascinating ideological debates of the times - the dialogue between Gandhi and Ambedkar. While Gandhi desired to change the nomenclature of the oppressed sections and call them as Harijans to overcome the stigma they bore, Ambedkar advocated class struggle to change their social condition. Gandhi’s advocacy against untouchability in this movie does not form full circle without the mention of Ambedkar’s view.The role of Mohammed Ali Jinnah portrayed by Alyque Padamsee is in the line of expectations of every Indian. Jinnah is presented in the film in a radically different way from Gandhi's and the fact known to Indians get reinforced on seeing this role. However, the fact is Jinnah achieved his goal with the means he adopted. Roshan Seth plays the role of Nehru with great compassion. But the role of Nehru in this move is secondary and poorly explored. His admiration towards Gandhi is impressed upon the viewers in the few scenes he interacts with his mentor. Saeed Jaffrey cannot be serious and Vallabhbhai Patel was never jovial. Still the role of Patel is adorned by Saeed Jaffrey in a polished way with Western costumes which is slightly unacceptable to Indian viewers.As a result of the Salt (Dandi) March, Gandhi is requested to travel to England for discussions about an independent India. The Salt March demonstrated to the world the new instrument of political action and peaceful militancy. It was at this battle, that the British lost the moral high ground. The movie correctly takes care of this entire episode. Subsequent, Gandhi-Irwin pact (March1931) and the second Round Table Conference (August 1931) is briefly highlighted. Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army don’t get mentioned. Nor the full impact of Quit India movement gets picturised. The roles of Jaya Prakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia and other leaders of the 1942 movement are conveniently forgotten. The arrest of Gandhi at Bombay in 1942 held for two years in the Aga Khan Palace is portrayed. The death of Kasturba Gandhi in 1944 and the sobbing of Gandhi disturb the Indian viewers. The melancholy mood goes to the extent that we have missed someone in our own family. The final days of independence and the role of Lord Mountbatten is shown too briefly. It has not left much of a mark on the viewers particularly Indians who understand that Mountbatten as brilliant administrator, with a natural talent for negotiation and decisive action, We don’t get to see the impact of his attempt in hammering out in short order an Independence settlement that Gandhi, the Congress and the Moslem League all agreed to. The violence between Hindus and Muslims during the period of Independence is shown realistically with dramatic effect which takes place subsequent to creation of Pakistan. The audience may not raise the finger against brutal British regime except to the scene of massacre at Jallianwalla Bagh. Richard Attenborough goes too soft to hide the situation of the desperate alarm with which the British viewed Hindu-Muslim unity. The well-documented incidents of British’s divide-and-rule policy which culminated in creation of Pakistan are safely buried by the master Director and the end result alone is shown.After the Partition there was blood-cruddling violence. Lakhs of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims were massacred and Gandhi goes on a fast unto death against the violance. When Gandhi sinks after nearly three weeks of self-imposed starvation, Nehru’s (Prime Minister by now) anger on the rioting mob in scorching language shows him in poor light.The historical accuracy is amazing considering this movie was done by a person other than an Indian. It portrays all of the characters very well as they are developed throughout the movie in minute details. Kudos to the director for the wonderful job on such a fabulous movie. The movie reinforces Gandhi’s name forever in human history. Gandhi will be remembered as a political philosopher, for he taught the world how political ends can be achieved through non-violence.Gandhi provided leadership by example. He exhibited the perfect marriage between personal morality and public action. The best demonstration of Gandhi’s leadership is his worldwide influence. Martin Luther King Jr., Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu and countless other leaders have been deeply influenced by Gandhi and his philosophy of non-violence. New leaders influenced by Gandhi continue to emerge and Barack Obama adding to this long list states that "In my life, I have always looked to Mahatma Gandhi as an inspiration, because he embodies the kind of transformational change that can be made when ordinary people come together to do extraordinary things". In a Gandhian spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation, Nelson Mandela reached out to his adversaries – the same ones who had tortured and imprisoned him to bring an end to apartheid rule. Gandhi’s greatest legacy is the notoriety he achieved for advocating non-violence as a means of overcoming oppression. It is this belief that guides the actions of millions of average citizens who participate in civil society movements today across the globe. Even in the case of Gandhi movie, the audience may not raise the finger against brutal British regime except to the scene of massacre at Jallianwalla Bagh. Richard Attenborough goes too soft to hide the situation of the desperate alarm with which the British viewed Hindu-Muslim unity. The well-documented incidents of British’s divide-and-rule policy which culminated in creation of Pakistan are safely buried by the master Director and the end result alone is shown. Albert Einstein said of Gandhi, "Generations to come, it may be, will scarcely believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth." Each occasion the movie gives us new meaning and energizes us to stand for a cause. ______________